Jayroy Oneshot

Jason opened the door to his apartment, greeted to a quiet atmosphere. It wasn't the crushing silence of night that Jason had grown used to. This was a soft silence, something that soothed Jason's nerves.

"Jay-Jay!" Lian's voice caught Jason off guard, the little girl running up to him and hugging his legs. Jason smiled, "Hey, kiddo." he lifted the girl in his arms, propping her up with just one. "Isn't it past your bedtime?" Jason asked, gently ruffling the girl's black hair. "Nuh-uh!" Lian quipped, crossing her little arms over her chest. "Yeah, it is." Roy chimed in, yawning as he stood up from the couch.

Lian turned to Jason, "Wanted to wait for you!" she smiled wide, wrapping her small arms around Jason's neck in a hug. Jason chuckled, gently rubbing Lian's back with his hand. "Oh, sure you did." Jason put Lian on the floor, "go get in bed, kid." He instructed, ruffling the girl's hair. Lian nodded, racing off to her room.

"God, I dunno how you do it..." Roy mumbled, hugging Jason and pressing his head into the crook of his neck. "She's so difficult..." Roy murmured, earning a laugh from Jason. "No, she's a kid. You just gotta talk to her level." Jason said softly, gently rubbing Roy's back. Roy huffed, "Easy for you to say... I have no idea what I'm doing..." he whimpered, his grip tightening. Jason sighed, pulling off of Roy a bit. "Hey, you're doing pretty fuckin' good so far. At least I think so," Jason gently patted Roy's shoulder, "Go get a bath, okay? I'll make sure she goes to sleep." Jason offered, smiling when Roy nodded. "Yeah... yeah, okay..." the ginger murmured.

The water was heavenly on Roy's aching body, and he could hear Jason speaking through the wall. He couldn't make out the words exactly, but hearing his friend's voice was always very comforting.

After his bath, Roy walked into the next room, Lian's room. Jason was sitting in front of the bed, telling a story about one of his brothers. "And then, Tim tried to pop a wheelie on my motorcycle to impress this guy, Bernard, and he ended up falling and spraining his leg." Jason said softly, gesturing vaguely with his hands.

"Do you always have to tell that story?" Roy asked, leaning against the door frame. Jason chuckled, standing up, "Aww, come on. She likes hearing it and I like telling it." he smirked, the two men glancing at Lian, finding her fast asleep. "See? Works like a charm." Jason smirked, gently pulling the covers up to Lian's shoulders.

The two men slowly peeled out of the room, leaving Roy's little girl to rest. "Thanks for doing all this, Jay... I don't know what I'd do without you." Roy murmured, smiling at Jason with tired eyes. The taller one smiled, "Crash and burn, probably." Jason joked, "Really though, I'm always happy to help. It's the least I can do for you letting me move in." Jason said softly, lightly patting Roy's shoulder. Roy smiled, stretching his arms.

"Still, I really appreciate it.", "It's no problem, Roy.", "Still, thank you." "Yeah, yeah. Quit getting sappy," Jason smiled, "but you should really get some sleep. You look like a zombie, and that's my title," Jason joked, lightly shoving Roy towards his room. Roy laughed, "yeah, yeah. I got it..." he murmured, smiling a bit. "Night, Jay-bird..." Roy said quietly, "g'night, Roy." Jason responded, watching as his friend disappeared into his room.

The next morning, the smell of eggs and bacon filled Roy's nose, his eyes slowly opening. He rolled over, taking a moment to steady himself before standing. Roy rubbed his eyes, as he entered the living room, finding Jason setting plates on the coffee table. "About fuckin' time you got up." Jason quipped, smiling wide at his friend. "Wh' time 's it?" Roy asked, his words slurring as he walked over. "After lunch. Figured you wouldn't want burgers for breakfast." Jason smiled, ruffling Roy's slightly long hair.

"Shit, I was supposed to bring Lian to school." Roy blurted, rubbing a hand over his face. "Ah, don't fuckin' worry about that. I made sure she got there." Jason smiled, lightly patting Roy's shoulder, "coffee?" He asked, smiling wider. Roy nodded, sighing heavily. "You didn't have to do all this..." Roy mumbled, a twinge of guilt in his voice.

Jason just smiled, "I wanted to." he said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Roy smiled a bit, "there's not gonna be any convincing you, is there?" He asked, watching as Jason disappeared into the kitchen. "Absolutely not!" Jason said, loud enough for Roy to hear. Roy laughed, rubbing his face. This routine the two of them had, even if it shifted slightly every once in a while, filled Roy's heart with joy, and his head with cotton.

Roy could tell, fairly easily, that their routine wasn't just for his benefit. He could see the shift in his daughter, how happy she'd get when Jason cooked, how she slept better at night. Roy could also see the shift in Jason. He was always sort of reckless, but now? Now, Jason seemed to relax when he was home. He was less impulsive overall, but especially on missions and patrols.

Roy smiled to himself. If Lian and Jason were happy, then so was he. That was all that mattered.